GPA announces record year for containers

The Georgia Ports Authority, at its January board meeting Monday in Atlanta, announced that 2007 was a record year for the nation's busiest port.

From January through December, GPA moved more than 2.6 million 20-foot containers - an increase of 20.6 percent over 2006 and a new record for the state.

Total tonnage at GPA's Colonel's Island bulk and autoport facility in Brunswick increased 13.4 percent from calendar year 2006, according to GPA Chairman Steve Green.

"These numbers were bolstered by new customers such as Bunge North America, Bentley and Maserati, as well as increased cargo volumes from existing customers," Green said Monday.

Infrastructure investments made by the state and the port authority are paying dividends for the port's customers, said GPA executive director Doug J. Marchand.

"We are setting new records, exceeding service levels and moving forward with an aggressive, $1.2 billion capital improvement plan to grow our business to new heights and create more jobs and opportunities for the citizens of Georgia," Marchand said.

Also at Monday's meeting, the authority approved two major capital improvement projects for the Port of Savannah.

The first, a $10.8 million contract to complete the Chatham Yard Intermodal Container Transfer Facility, is designed to enhance Savannah's rail capacity, improve overall terminal efficiencies and increase Georgia's reach throughout the southeastern U.S.

Chatham Yard will be the second intermodal transfer facility located at the Garden City Terminal. The first, the Mason Intermodal Container Transfer Facility, opened six and a half years ago.

"Rail is an area where we're growing by leaps and bounds," Marchand said in announcing plans for the new facility in August.

"In just two years, we've gone from servicing 11 trains a week between here and Atlanta to the current 17 trains per week."

That might not seem terribly impressive until you realize that each train is approximately 8,000 feet long and most are double-stacked. Currently, rail accounts for nearly 20 percent of container throughput at Garden City Terminal, where two major railroads, Norfolk-Southern and CSX, have on-terminal facilities.

Garden City Terminal is a strategic gateway to rail and road distribution networks that offer access to markets across the U.S., Southeast and Midwest including those with the fastest-growing populations and capital investments, according to GPA spokesman Robert Morris.

When the GPA dedicated the Mason ICTF in July 2001, the port of Savannah ranked seventh in the nation in terms of containers handled.

Today it ranks fourth and is still growing, a fact that explains the need for the second major project announced Monday - a $4.5 million contract to complete 42 additional acres of container storage at Container Berths 8 and 9 in Garden City.

"With the additional capacity created by these and other planned projects and bolstered by our continuing efforts to deepen the Savannah Harbor up to 48 feet, the Port of Savannah will continue to stimulate the growth of businesses throughout the state for many years to come," Marchand said.